Anybody onboard currently?

[Riocca]

2 hours ago, gymfreak said:

Anyone onboard Onward able to find out how many passengers are expected on the transatlantic from Lisbon on November 18th?

Rough estimate given that there’s about 90 cabins currently available is 500+
 

John

[DS]

On the Quest, from Lisbon to Barbados (with follow on thru the Amazon to Buenos Aires).  Current passenger load is 419 PAX.  Somewhere between 20 something and 100 or more are back-to backers from previous cruise—heard both numbers--- but some times at specialty restaurants were already booked by B2Bers before we got on in the first group!   We had a good sail away from Lisbon, a bit of a swell to Funchal, but wonderful weather when we got there.  Now heading toward Barbados with 6 sea days.  Calm seas.  Expect more than 200 back-to-backers onto the next, Amazon, voyage.  Early info (no precise numbers yet) indicate that this cruise has the most number of repeat/loyalty cruisers of ANY Azamara cruise ever (even with only 419 passengers!)

Current Senior Officers are…

              Captain:  Johannes Tysse—gets off in Buenos Aires on Dec 10^th… no info on replacement

              Staff Captain: Roman Kutsenko

Chief Engineer:  Nikolay Georgiev

Hotel Director Ryszard Gusmann – gets off in Buenos Aires on Dec 10^th… no info on replacement

Cruise Director:  Amanda Poulson… gets off in Barbados on 18 Nov… replaced by Steven from the Journey!

Asst. Cruise Director:  Jose Alpizar… gets off in Barbados on 18 Dec… replaced by Justin from the Journey

Exec Chief:   Jason Chastom

F&B Manger:  Tekin Sahin

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, DS said:

Cruise Director:  Amanda Poulson… gets off in Barbados on 18 Nov… replaced by Steven from the Journey!

Asst. Cruise Director:  Jose Alpizar… gets off in Barbados on 18 Dec… replaced by Justin from the Journey

I can see the logic on this:  since they do their own shows, by moving from ship to ship that entertainment gets spread around better.

[Roel94]

4 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I can see the logic on this:  since they do their own shows, by moving from ship to ship that entertainment gets spread around better.

Justin was on Quest for wrll ovsr a year.

Amanda ..rumor was on Quest she was going tomJr..so who knows  

[aussie travel bird]

8 hours ago, DS said:

On the Quest, from Lisbon to Barbados (with follow on thru the Amazon to Buenos Aires).  Current passenger load is 419 PAX.  Somewhere between 20 something and 100 or more are back-to backers from previous cruise—heard both numbers--- but some times at specialty restaurants were already booked by B2Bers before we got on in the first group!   We had a good sail away from Lisbon, a bit of a swell to Funchal, but wonderful weather when we got there.  Now heading toward Barbados with 6 sea days.  Calm seas.  Expect more than 200 back-to-backers onto the next, Amazon, voyage.  Early info (no precise numbers yet) indicate that this cruise has the most number of repeat/loyalty cruisers of ANY Azamara cruise ever (even with only 419 passengers!)

Current Senior Officers are…

              Captain:  Johannes Tysse—gets off in Buenos Aires on Dec 10^th… no info on replacement

              Staff Captain: Roman Kutsenko

Chief Engineer:  Nikolay Georgiev

Hotel Director Ryszard Gusmann – gets off in Buenos Aires on Dec 10^th… no info on replacement

Cruise Director:  Amanda Poulson… gets off in Barbados on 18 Nov… replaced by Steven from the Journey!

Asst. Cruise Director:  Jose Alpizar… gets off in Barbados on 18 Dec… replaced by Justin from the Journey

Exec Chief:   Jason Chastom

F&B Manger:  Tekin Sahin

Been on since Barcelona and at the b2b2 meeting we were informed there is 126 back to backer from the crossing to the Amazon. There’s is also a record breaking number of top tier Azamara Circle Members onboard for this and the next cruise.

[oddjob16]

11 hours ago, DS said:

On the Quest, from Lisbon to Barbados (with follow on thru the Amazon to Buenos Aires).  Current passenger load is 419 PAX.  Somewhere between 20 something and 100 or more are back-to backers from previous cruise—heard both numbers--- but some times at specialty restaurants were already booked by B2Bers before we got on in the first group!   We had a good sail away from Lisbon, a bit of a swell to Funchal, but wonderful weather when we got there.  Now heading toward Barbados with 6 sea days.  Calm seas.  Expect more than 200 back-to-backers onto the next, Amazon, voyage.  Early info (no precise numbers yet) indicate that this cruise has the most number of repeat/loyalty cruisers of ANY Azamara cruise ever (even with only 419 passengers!)

Current Senior Officers are…

              Captain:  Johannes Tysse—gets off in Buenos Aires on Dec 10^th… no info on replacement

              Staff Captain: Roman Kutsenko

Chief Engineer:  Nikolay Georgiev

Hotel Director Ryszard Gusmann – gets off in Buenos Aires on Dec 10^th… no info on replacement

Cruise Director:  Amanda Poulson… gets off in Barbados on 18 Nov… replaced by Steven from the Journey!

Asst. Cruise Director:  Jose Alpizar… gets off in Barbados on 18 Dec… replaced by Justin from the Journey

Exec Chief:   Jason Chastom

F&B Manger:  Tekin Sahin

Most probably Johannes will be replaced by Jonas Lyddby and Ryszard will be replaced by Tatiana Morello.

 

[Riocca]

46 minutes ago, oddjob16 said:

Most probably Johannes will be replaced by Jonas Lyddby and Ryszard will be replaced by Tatiana Morello.

 

Tatiana is supposed to be on Onward until the 5th January.

[oddjob16]

2 hours ago, Riocca said:

Tatiana is supposed to be on Onward until the 5th January.

Thanks. I just thought she was on vacation since she was on Quest in August.

[DS]

On 11/11/2023 at 6:51 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

I can see the logic on this:  since they do their own shows, by moving from ship to ship that entertainment gets spread around better.

ON THE OTHER HAND... sometimes we book a particular ship based on its crew...  not just the Captain or the Cruise Director ( although these are important) but also the waiters, stewards, etc.  This is especially true when all the ships are doing essentially the same itineraries in the Med.  To the extent that this "transfer mentality" works it way down  (... as it already has!) things get bad.  When all our favorite people have been transferred to another ship.... its a bummer!

[DS]

We did French Chef table last night on Quest Trans Atlantic.  

On this 9 day voyage, there are 3 nights with French and 2 nights with Italian!

[excitedofharpenden]

21 hours ago, DS said:

ON THE OTHER HAND... sometimes we book a particular ship based on its crew...  not just the Captain or the Cruise Director ( although these are important) but also the waiters, stewards, etc.  This is especially true when all the ships are doing essentially the same itineraries in the Med.  To the extent that this "transfer mentality" works it way down  (... as it already has!) things get bad.  When all our favorite people have been transferred to another ship.... its a bummer!

You can't do that any longer unfortunately although sometimes it can work in ones favour. We had Darren Lynton as CD on Journey last year. Delighted he'd moved to Quest when we were last on that ship.  

 

Azamara don't really like the guests sticking to one ship I feel. I don't really have a problem with it. Azamara have such a good pool of people at all levels. The challenge is to keep them within the company and we've seen a few drift off recently. 

 

Phil 

[Lazy Sailor]

On 11/11/2023 at 10:36 PM, DS said:

On the Quest, from Lisbon to Barbados (with follow on thru the Amazon to Buenos Aires).  Current passenger load is 419 PAX.  Somewhere between 20 something and 100 or more are back-to backers from previous cruise—heard both numbers--- but some times at specialty restaurants were already booked by B2Bers before we got on in the first group!   We had a good sail away from Lisbon, a bit of a swell to Funchal, but wonderful weather when we got there.  Now heading toward Barbados with 6 sea days.  Calm seas.  Expect more than 200 back-to-backers onto the next, Amazon, voyage.  Early info (no precise numbers yet) indicate that this cruise has the most number of repeat/loyalty cruisers of ANY Azamara cruise ever (even with only 419 passengers!)

Current Senior Officers are…

              Captain:  Johannes Tysse—gets off in Buenos Aires on Dec 10^th… no info on replacement

              Staff Captain: Roman Kutsenko

Chief Engineer:  Nikolay Georgiev

Hotel Director Ryszard Gusmann – gets off in Buenos Aires on Dec 10^th… no info on replacement

Cruise Director:  Amanda Poulson… gets off in Barbados on 18 Nov… replaced by Steven from the Journey!

Asst. Cruise Director:  Jose Alpizar… gets off in Barbados on 18 Dec… replaced by Justin from the Journey

Exec Chief:   Jason Chastom

F&B Manger:  Tekin Sahin

Thanks for the update. We are joining in Barbados. Hope you back-to-backers have not drunk the ship dry before we get there.

[G2G]

On 11/12/2023 at 1:42 PM, oddjob16 said:

Thanks. I just thought she was on vacation since she was on Quest in August.

She is, I spoke to her yesterday at White night. 

[DS]

Top Cruiser event on Quest ( Lisbon -> Barbados)  -- and news about next trip...

 

     Tonight was the "top Cruiser" event on Quest.  As I noted before, this voyage has the highest number of repeat travelers of ANY Azamara trip ever.   The Top Cruiser had 690 nights  (not us!)  There were 111 people with more than 100 nights; 54 with more than 200; 40 with more than 300; 15 with more than 400 and 8 with more than 500.   All top 3 had more than 600 nights.

 

     When the Captain was talking, he said he had spent the day worrying about fuel and water.

     Fuel.... in Bridgetown the fuel lines are apparently burying in the concrete pier.... but they broke!  So refueling there becomes more difficult.   As a result we have to increase speed and get there at 6 PM the night before we were suppose to arrive so we can refuel over night since all the slots with refueling capacity are filled the next day.

     Water in the Amazon-- no, not the water level ( that seems OK), but drinking water.  When we are at docked/anchored at Manaus the ship can not make its own potable water.   So water has to be delivered by these big barges.   We will need two barges full.   But it takes 10 hours between deliveries to refill a barge.... BUT WAIT!  if you pay 2 1/2 times more, the time can be cut to 5 hours!  As the Captain said, business in Brazil is--- interesting...

 

Edited November 14, 2023 by DS
missing portion

[terry&mike]

2 hours ago, DS said:

Top Cruiser event on Quest ( Lisbon -> Barbados)  -- and news about next trip...

 

     Tonight was the "top Cruiser" event on Quest.  As I noted before, this voyage has the highest number of repeat travelers of ANY Azamara trip ever.   The Top Cruiser had 690 nights  (not us!)  There were 111 people with more than 100 nights; 54 with more than 200; 40 with more than 300; 15 with more than 400 and 8 with more than 500.   All top 3 had more than 600 nights.

 

     When the Captain was talking, he said he had spent the day worrying about fuel and water.

     Fuel.... in Bridgetown the fuel lines are apparently burying in the concrete pier.... but they broke!  So refueling there becomes more difficult.   As a result we have to increase speed and get there at 6 PM the night before we were suppose to arrive so we can refuel over night since all the slots with refueling capacity are filled the next day.

     Water in the Amazon-- no, not the water level ( that seems OK), but drinking water.  When we are at docked/anchored at Manaus the ship can not make its own potable water.   So water has to be delivered by these big barges.   We will need two barges full.   But it takes 10 hours between deliveries to refill a barge.... BUT WAIT!  if you pay 2 1/2 times more, the time can be cut to 5 hours!  As the Captain said, business in Brazil is--- interesting...

 

At least the ship will be there for us to board on Saturday!!

[Dynacruiser]

On 11/14/2023 at 5:24 PM, DS said:

Top Cruiser event on Quest ( Lisbon -> Barbados)  -- and news about next trip...

 

     Tonight was the "top Cruiser" event on Quest.  As I noted before, this voyage has the highest number of repeat travelers of ANY Azamara trip ever.   The Top Cruiser had 690 nights  (not us!)  There were 111 people with more than 100 nights; 54 with more than 200; 40 with more than 300; 15 with more than 400 and 8 with more than 500.   All top 3 had more than 600 nights.

 

     When the Captain was talking, he said he had spent the day worrying about fuel and water.

     Fuel.... in Bridgetown the fuel lines are apparently burying in the concrete pier.... but they broke!  So refueling there becomes more difficult.   As a result we have to increase speed and get there at 6 PM the night before we were suppose to arrive so we can refuel over night since all the slots with refueling capacity are filled the next day.

     Water in the Amazon-- no, not the water level ( that seems OK), but drinking water.  When we are at docked/anchored at Manaus the ship can not make its own potable water.   So water has to be delivered by these big barges.   We will need two barges full.   But it takes 10 hours between deliveries to refill a barge.... BUT WAIT!  if you pay 2 1/2 times more, the time can be cut to 5 hours!  As the Captain said, business in Brazil is--- interesting...

 

 

WOW!   The numbers here are HUMBLING.   I was proud to tell people that we have more than 100 nights (very approximate, we dont count, but very estimated).    100 nights is NOTHING to brag about!   

 

690 nights?  that's probably like 40 cruises, or more.    That's like 1.6 years if the cruises were to be taken consecutively!  

I need months of recovery after overeating and overdrinking.  I dont have the discipline to stay away from food or alcohol if it is in front of me.  It'll take me another 10 years or more to reach 200 nights.

 

Thanks for the info!

[Cruizer Diana]

We are sailing on the Onward on 11/30/23 from Ft Lauderdale and have a few questions.

• Has the M&M still been happening in the card room/living room at about 5pm at sailaway and posted in the daily newsletter?
• Is the patio open in the evening? We've had open/closed at random in the past.
• Is Windows, in the evening, a buffet or served?  Is the menu similar to the dining room or themed?
• How are the included cocktails? Last few cruises we've been on, the cocktails were a "bit off" in flavor. Do the "virgin" cocktails taste better than those with alcohol?
• Any word on how many passengers will be aboard on the 11/30/23 sailing?

Thank you for any information you can share!

Diana

 

[DS]

On the Quest, out of Barbados, heading for the Amazon.   We’ve had our first hiccup—no, not the Amazon water level, which seems to be OK for our size ship (we know other lines have cancelled their later sailings).  

 

Last night part of a transformer that drives one of the propellers failed.  This meant:

·        Our maximum speed dropped from 18+ knots to 15+ knots, which meant

·        Our arrival at the pilot station at the mouth of the Amazon will be about 8 or 9 hours late, which means

·        Our journey up the river will be impacted time wise.

 

The problem can not be fixed while the ship is underway, and in any case will require specialized high voltage electricians who are not on board.   The Captain has been on conference calls with Miami at least three times already today (a Sunday, of course…).   They are tying to get the specialists (contractors) to the pilot station at the entrance to the river.   We have to stop there anyway to complete “Brazilian Formalities” and can turn off the ship and see if they can make repairs, or if further parts (which are not onboard, nor are they  “off-the-shelf”) are needed.   Best case, repairs are made and we continue along, just 8 or 9 hours off schedule, with whatever times/ports of call that need to be adjusted (still TBD).  Worst case, we continue up river without full power, which will cause a further exacerbation in our delay, since we will be fighting a 4 to 5 knot current all the way upstream, and needed full power to make original schedule.  So, more modifications (still TDB) to timing and itinerary will be needed.

     Its “early days” and most details have not been worked out.   The Captain’s noon announcements lasted almost half an hour and he was very complete and straight-forward about the situation, and promised to keep us up to day as soon as they knew any more.  He emphasized that the ship is not in any danger, nor are we.   Worse case is that we mosey up the river and adjust ports on the river and later as necessary. 

     Updates as they occur...

 

[Ithikan]

Thanks for this very specific update on Quest's sailing, DS.  It's good to have info both on the "fail," and on the potential fixes.

[Mackdogmolly]

I take it you have Captain Johannes. He will make the best of any bad situation 

[DS]

1 hour ago, Mackdogmolly said:

I take it you have Captain Johannes. He will make the best of any bad situation 

Yep...  of all the captains, he is the most communicative in these situation of any we had ( evidence:   Christmas 2021 COVID cruise, where more than half our Caribbean ports were cancelled ( by the port), yet he managed to get us to a new unscheduled port almost every time:  as he said, often at 6 PM he did not know where he was going for tomorrow, but he got us there! )

[terry&mike]

And on top of all that, he’s walking around on the pool deck having some swirl ice cream visiting pleasantly with guests, while occasionally taking calls on his phone. Grace under pressure. 

[Mackdogmolly]

4 minutes ago, DS said:

Yep...  of all the captains, he is the most communicative in these situation of any we had ( evidence:   Christmas 2021 COVID cruise, where more than half our Caribbean ports were cancelled ( by the port), yet he managed to get us to a new unscheduled port almost every time:  as he said, often at 6 PM he did not know where he was going for tomorrow, but he got us there! )

I was on that cruise! The cruise to “anybody’s guess!” 😂

[CJANDH]

Please keep us posted on the condition of the Amazon as you progress upstream. Sorry to hear about the mechanical/electrical problems. Good sailing!

[Roel94]

On 11/14/2023 at 7:24 PM, DS said:

Top Cruiser event on Quest ( Lisbon -> Barbados)  -- and news about next trip...

 

     Tonight was the "top Cruiser" event on Quest.  As I noted before, this voyage has the highest number of repeat travelers of ANY Azamara trip ever.   The Top Cruiser had 690 nights  (not us!)  There were 111 people with more than 100 nights; 54 with more than 200; 40 with more than 300; 15 with more than 400 and 8 with more than 500.   All top 3 had more than 600 nights.

 

     When the Captain was talking, he said he had spent the day worrying about fuel and water.

     Fuel.... in Bridgetown the fuel lines are apparently burying in the concrete pier.... but they broke!  So refueling there becomes more difficult.   As a result we have to increase speed and get there at 6 PM the night before we were suppose to arrive so we can refuel over night since all the slots with refueling capacity are filled the next day.

     Water in the Amazon-- no, not the water level ( that seems OK), but drinking water.  When we are at docked/anchored at Manaus the ship can not make its own potable water.   So water has to be delivered by these big barges.   We will need two barges full.   But it takes 10 hours between deliveries to refill a barge.... BUT WAIT!  if you pay 2 1/2 times more, the time can be cut to 5 hours!  As the Captain said, business in Brazil is--- interesting...

 

Seems the Top Cruiser event with Johanness was longer than mine with Jonas. His was the shortest on record unless with mask.

 

Seems there are several people who are racking up days . I am still ahead  of these numbers but hopefully not for long. Bored with the whole thing.